Dave Higgins's Blog, page 63

Emma and the Elixir of Madness by Matthew S. Cox

Cox continues to blend the excitement and strangeness of fantasy with the lightness and smaller-scale of middle-grade fiction, producing a tale that grips the reader without instilling terror. This book is the fourth in the Tales of Widowswood series. Spoilers may leap from the undergrowth. Strange transformations and embarrassing events are disturbing the peace of … Continue reading Emma and the Elixir of Madness by Matthew S. Cox

Throats Dry with Dust

Things have got a little busy here. When I decided to commission Fears of a Clown in addition to my other projects, I thought I’d tidily filled the my schedule for the first quarter of the year. Since then I’ve received a request from a magazine to submit, two rewrite requests on short stories, and … Continue reading Throats Dry with Dust

Duel Visions by Misha Burnett & Louise Sorensen

This anthology gathers a mix of published and unpublished stories by Burnett and Sorensen, spanning the genres from overt horror to the almost meditative. ‘Black Dog’, Misha Burnett: The new custodian of a cemetery notices several different people taking the same dog for a walk: does the owner merely have lots of friends or is … Continue reading Duel Visions by Misha Burnett & Louise Sorensen

Facing in Subtly Different Directions

Someone once compared the internet to a series of tubes full of cats. While their intent was—I suspect—to comment on trends in social media, the image works equally well for finding things in a home that contains cats and tubes: both in the sense of unexpectedly finding things in a tunnel and not being able … Continue reading Facing in Subtly Different Directions

Huntress by Stephanie Flint

Mixing the most superficial of events, a beauty contest, with the enduring question of when means justify ends and a young protagonist, Flint creates a cyberpunk tale that will appeal to both fans of techno-thrillers and young adult dystopias. Koenigin Corp offers augmentations and nanite treatments that can cure someone’s ills or make them better … Continue reading Huntress by Stephanie Flint

A Growing Trepidation

The Fears of a Clown submission window has been open for slightly over a week now and I’ve already received some very creative perspectives on the theme. However, there’s still plenty of opportunity to submit; I’m interested in great fiction not whether or not someone can get a story to me as fast as possible. … Continue reading A Growing Trepidation

The Cursed Crown by Matthew S. Cox

Cox smoothly blends questions of metaphysics with grimy fantasy and diverse characters to create a young adult tale that is both deep and fast-paced, uplifting and realistic. This novel is the sequel to The Eldritch Heart. As Cox himself says at the start, sharp pointy spoilers ahead. With the twenty-five-year war against Evermoor over, King … Continue reading The Cursed Crown by Matthew S. Cox

Life Through a Pain of Glass

History shows us over and over that atrocity doesn’t come solely from a single malevolent entity, unregenerate in their inhumanity, but also from ordinary people making imperfect choices in the face of an imperfect world. And so perhaps the path to a less imperfect world is to accept that those who oppose what we think … Continue reading Life Through a Pain of Glass

NYV: Punk by K.D. McQuain

Fusing one of the archetypal devourers of life with a culture defined by the raw expression of being alive, McQuain creates a visceral take on both vampirism and modern society. Palestine, Texas, is as far from metropolitan excess as one might get. Yet even that rural isolation is too polluting for Christian’s mother to allow … Continue reading NYV: Punk by K.D. McQuain

Beneath a Three-Lobed Eye

Events reminded me of a recent discussion I had on whether Nyarlathotep might really destroy humanity and how he might do it. Unsurprisingly, my thoughts drew upon nuances of meaning: specifically, what one means by “Nyarlathotep” and “destroy”. Of all the Old Ones and other vast beings of Lovecraft’s stories, Nyarlathotep is one of the … Continue reading Beneath a Three-Lobed Eye